pros of commuting

hey guys im doing a speach on the pros of commuting on bike over a car. was looking for some facts. my main points are for your health, for your enviornment, for your bank account, and keeping it reasonable ( not riding 30 miles on the highway in the snow)

hey guys im doing a speach on the pros of commuting on bike over a car. was looking for some facts. my main points are for your health, for your enviornment, for your bank account, and keeping it reasonable ( not riding 30 miles on the highway in the snow)

Those are all good points for your speach. Commuting by bicycle helps one to "think outside the box", and observe our daily environment in a different light. Cylcing is a sport that helps one be better connected to the world around them.

That being said, I hope to increase the number of times I commute by bike over the next year. I hope to commute to work and for groceries. I'm starting with simple tasks, and am hoping to test my luck using a "bicycle only" for a full calendar year. I know the logistics are tough, but it is good to have goals in mind.

At this point I try and research areas around places of business where I can lock my bike while I am using their business. I am also researching local businesses close to my home that have what I need. It is amazing the rut we get into when we know we can easliy zip from one end of town to the next in our gas powered transports. It seems to me that life has to become more simple in order embrace the bicycle as your main means of transportation. I like simple, and I'd like to make my life more simple than it is right now.

I don't know if this helps or if this type of reply is what you are looking for, but there is my .02$.

Bojangles, that about sums it up. For some (big, very congested metro areas), apparently it can be faster than driving, but I think that`s a rare situation. If you add in the later "mental health" benefit, you hit my favorite part. It wakes me up going in, calms me down going home, and is just plain fun. Enjoyment is the number one reason that I pedal to and from work- health comes in second,financial reasons are negligible in my case, and green is just a nice side effect.

Schmucker, one excellent point and one so far off base that I HOPE you`re joking.

This is a good summary from 12 months of commuting on bicycle as primary form of transportation in collaboration with public transit (BART train subway) and hitchin' rides with cool peoples to long distance locations. http://www.racingmix.com/2010/10/you-bike-rain/

While it is *definitely* illegal (and a good way to get yourself killed) in Utah, at least any issued citations do not count against your*driving* record. i.e. They can't suspend your license or jack your insurance rates because of it. The can (and hopefully will) still write you a fat ticket and throw your a$$ in jail though.

I'm not sure where that puts us on the redneck scale, but I do actually kind of agree with it.

Originally Posted by Leopold Porkstacker

Would you seriously consider going to work drunk?

I wouldn't consider going to work drunk. But, since I am lucky enough to have a functioning, food grade, "fermentation sciences" lab that I do research in, I've been known to do some "QC work" on Friday afternoons. I like that I don't have to worry quite as much when my clothes smell like beer in case I do encounter The Man on the way home.

Kind of ties into the mental health, but I would remind people it can be fun, whereas car-commuting is not fun. You can experience the simple joy of riding a bike that some have not done since elementary school. Plus, you cannot get a feeling of accomplishment from driving to work the way you can from riding there.

hey guys im doing a speach on the pros of commuting on bike over a car. was looking for some facts. my main points are for your health, for your enviornment, for your bank account, and keeping it reasonable ( not riding 30 miles on the highway in the snow)

- For short distances - 3 to 5 miles, or so - it can be faster than driving.
- One bike takes much less space in the street than one car. 10 persons riding a bike instead of driving leaves a significant amount of space for those who drive. 100 persons riding a bike instead of driving...

"it IS possible that you are faster or slower than anybody else who is having at least as much if not more or less fun"

I think it depends on your commute and your financial situation. I had a car that I sold which netted me $6500 cash. I also spent $60/month in gas, $55/month in insurance, $200/year in registration, $400/year in maintenance. That all works out to $165/month which is a decent chunk of change. And most people have a car payment of $200-400/month which they could be rid of. Now I understand most people will not go completely car-free, but you CAN do it. Even for those who don't, lower miles driven = lower cost of insurance, less gas used, less maintenance, higher resale value.

pros: you are healthier, lose weight, blow off steam and are less likely to punch your coworkers in the face, and save money on parking (400 bucks a year in my case).

cons: you bum rides when it's raining like hell, a flat tire means you're late for work, getting hit by a car in a truck doesn't hurt nearly as bad as on a bike, and when it's hot you either stink like monkeyass or have to shower at work like i do (which means leaving 30 minutes early).

how durable a bike or component is usually has a lot to do with how heavy and ugly it is.

...That all works out to $165/month which is a decent chunk of change.

...Even for those who don't, lower miles driven = lower cost of insurance, less gas used, less maintenance, higher resale value.

Yeah, I think commute length makes a big difference in how much you can save (or whether you can save). Bike commuting costs about the same regardless of the mileage. Obviously, wear items would go faster with more mileage, but still realatively inexpensive. Fuel is the biggest car commuting expense and it varies in direct relation to mileage.

My hat is off to you guys who have the conviction to sell your cars or to not ever buy one in the first place. If you go that far, I can see the really big savings that could be realized.

I don`t agree so much about your last point. Some insurance policies might charge by mileage (it would make a lot of sense), but mine have always been flat rate. Gas and maintenance go down with less driving, but resale value only matters if you plan to sell the car someday. I know that a lot of people do it- every car I`ve ever owned and probably every car I will ever own in the future is an example of a car that somebody bought, used for a while, then sold. I drive mine until they`re toast and I`m not alone in that, so resale is a totally moot point for us. Bottom line: no car = big savings, less car = a bit less than full time driving.

I used to save a lot more money when my alternative was a pickup truck; now that I have a hatchback I don't have nearly the savings. On the plus side, my bike commute is actually warmer than the truck,because the heat didn't work for cr*p. My insurance used to go by mileage, and you could even have a "farm policy" for a little-used vehicle, but my insurance company doesn't do that anymore. I drive my cars into the ground too...by the time I resold one, it's highest value was for the ice demoliiton derby. Another was given to charity for scrap value, but the towtruck got stuck in my driveway and had to call the really big towtruck to get out.

I live in Seattle. Where my house is, there's plenty of street parking, which is nice because I do own a truck. But I almost never use my truck to run errands or commute within city limits. Driving in Seattle pisses me off, parking in Seattle pisses me off, my bike times are usually about equal with my drive times, especially after hunting for parking, and I'm sure I'd have finished killing my clutch by now if I drove on city streets more regularly. Running errands on a bike is pretty awesome too, if I don't have to carry anything bulkier than a bag of paper towel rolls (I can fit six rolls in my messenger bag, just) or plan for the heavy/bulky item to be the last stop, and strap it to my rack. Instead of that process of drive somewhere, find a parking space, park, walk back to wherever, do the errand, walk back to the car, drive to the next place, find a parking space, repeat, it's just ride from place to place. Sometimes I don't even have to lock the bike.

I do also save a lot of money. Not sure how much, since I don't think my miles would go up that much if I didn't ride my bike (my insurance is for a certain number of miles a year, and driving to races accounts for a hefty chunk of that) but my commuter cost $95, and the biggest expense I've ever had since purchase was building a new rear wheel several months ago for $60. By contrast, it costs almost $60 to fill the tank in my truck, and things like brake work, a new windshield, and new rear tires have all cost more than my entire commute bike did.

yeah im a "Pro"

It does depend on the distance you need to commute, and where you live. I have a 17mile commute one way to work, takes me about an hour... then 20 minutes or so to shower and change when I get there. Then there's prepping and packing work clothes, lunch, and laying out riding clothes the night before.

I do it as often as I can when schedule and weather permit. But I don't try it from about now until there's more daylight in the spring since I live in a rural area and would be riding in the dark both ways... even with good lights it doesn't feel very safe. Living in Wisconsin, the winter weather doesn't do much to add to the safety factor.

Save money, well, kinda. There is always plenty of money to throw at your hobbies.

The lifestyle fits some better than others. As a freight pilot I don't have to smell good at work, since I'm by myself. I have a secure place to keep my bike, and my commute hours are very early and very late, very low traffic. If I had to ride my bike along a road scattered with bars, I would find a different place to live to keep commuting by bicycle.